Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol have confirmed that their countries and the US will work closely together against North Korea's nuclear and missile development.
The two leaders held talks for about 30 minutes on Thursday during their visit to San Francisco for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. It was the seventh summit between Kishida and Yoon this year.
In his opening remarks, Yoon said bilateral cooperation is deepening with invigoration of exchanges at each level, including that of summits.
He expressed hope to continue working with Kishida to enable the two countries to communicate closely in each sector.
In response, Kishida said the international community has been undergoing rapid changes. He added that it was very encouraging to see the close cooperation between the two countries in flying their nationals out of Israel after fighting broke out between the country and Hamas.
In addition to the trilateral cooperation against North Korea, the two leaders said they will communicate closely across various fields. They include the situation in the Middle East, Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order.
Kishida and Yoon are scheduled to attend a debate together on advanced technology at Stanford University on Friday.